Frontier Services Group already offers medical airlift in addition to other transport and logistic services through Phoenix Aviation. Photo/FILE
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Frontier Services Group, which is partly owned by former US Navy Seal Erik Prince, says multinationals are mostly enquiring about medical evacuation and employee airlift services.
Multinationals operating in Africa are especially keen on emergency services in the event of terrorist attacks, natural disasters and civil unrest.
A Hong Kong Stock Exchange-listed logistics company with operations in Nairobi and Mombasa has announced increased enquiries for emergency evacuation services from Kenyan-based multinationals that are alarmed by rising security scares.
Frontier Services Group (FSG), which is partly owned by former US Navy Seal Erik Prince, says multinationals are mostly enquiring about medical evacuation and employee airlift services.
FSG already offers medical airlift in addition to other transport and logistic services through Phoenix Aviation, a Kenyan firm in which it acquired a 49 per cent stake in April for $14 million (Sh1.2 billion).
“We’re getting enquiries from companies in need of emergency action plans such as medevac and evacuation of employees due to insecurity,” said the FSG chief executive Gregg Smith in an interview with the Business Daily in Nairobi.
Multinationals operating in Africa are especially keen on emergency services in the event of terrorist attacks, natural disasters and civil unrest.
Mr Smith attributed the rising enquiries to the increased spate of terror attacks and civil war in resource-rich sub-Saharan Africa economies including Kenya, South Sudan, Democratic Republic of Congo and Nigeria.
Kenyan firms operating in South Sudan were last year forced to evacuate their staff following outbreak of civil war.
Phoenix Aviation was last month authorised by the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA) to provide non-scheduled air cargo services to the world’s most populous continent, Asia.
This gives FSG a window to service firms from resource-hungry China who are scouring the African continent for oil, gas and minerals to feed the emerging economy.
Mr Smith said the new line of business will support its core focus of providing passenger and freight services to oil and mining companies by transporting staff, machinery and spare parts to far-off areas such as Lokichar in Turkana and remote oil fields in South Sudan.
“But our focus is on offering last-mile logistic needs to companies in construction, mining and oil and gas.”
The Frontier Services Group chairman, Mr Prince, is the founder of Blackwater — the controversial private US defence contractor that at one time came under fierce criticism over its operations in Iraq.
FSG was formerly known as DVN Holdings Limited. It changed its name in March through regulatory filings to the Hong Kong bourse.
FSG said it would begin to roll out its logistics services after receiving shareholders’ and regulatory approval expected in mid-July to complete the acquisition of Phoenix Aviation.
Mr Smith announced that the firm plans to use the Kilifi-based Kijipwa Aviation — where it acquired a 49 per cent stake last year — to establish a flying school.
FSG is exploiting the comprehensive aviation licences held by Kijpwa Aviation that allows provision of flying instructions, aerial work service, aircraft mechanics and self-fly hire. “There is untapped demand. There is a need for pilots, engineers and aircraft mechanics as the aviation business in Africa is set to grow exponentially.”
